Les Guardiens de la Puissance
by Kris Black
Summary: Hitomi returns to Gaea nine months after she left with some big news for Van. However, just when they think that they are going to get a happy ending a series of attempted kidnappings and assassinations leave them guessing what is to come next...
1. Prologue

_Les Guardiens de la Puissance_

by

Kris Black

DISCLAIMER: _Escaflowne_ is the sole property of its creator and distributors. I do not own _Escaflowne_ or any of the characters in the story that you recognize. The characters that you do not recognize, however, are my own; please do not use them without permission. This disclaimer applies to this chapter and this story in a whole.

**AN:** Ah, another story, but an Escaflowne one. I have tried a new approach with this one – I actually wrote a whole plot. Yup, from start to finish the plot is done; I just have to write the chapters. Well, this is the prologue of _Les Guardiens du Puissance_, which is French because I couldn't think of a title in English. Well, enjoy!

* * *

"My Lord, we found her lying in the snow unconscious," I heard a deep, mumbled voice saying through the darkness, "One of the men with us served in the Destiny War and he identified her as the Winged Goddess. We thought it would be best to bring her to the castle." 

'Where am I?'

"You were correct in the identification," a familiar voice resounded, "Thank you for your help."

'What happened…?'

I heard the sound of a large door shutting echo throughout the room. Footsteps came towards me in the darkness. Suddenly, warmth filled into her hand.

"Hitomi, what happened to you?"

'That voice sounds like Van's voice… but that's impossible… oh no!'

"My baby!" I shouted, suddenly sitting up – the brightness of the room blinding me for a moment.

I was frantic. Where was I? What happened to me? Did I go into labour? Where is my son? I looked down to my still swollen belly and felt relieved for the first time since finding out I was pregnant. My baby was still inside of me, safe – at least for now. I placed my hands gently on my stomach where I felt my baby kick, and smiled.

"Hitomi…" A shocked voice called out to me from the right.

I turned as slowly as possible towards the voice, scared that this was one of my dreams and that as soon as I touched who I thought was there that he would be gone. It isn't possible that I am in Fanelia; I repeated my mantra over and over. I had tried almost everyday to return to Gaea, to Van, since I found out about my pregnancy. However, to the right side of the bed I was laying in sat Van, almost precisely as I had left him a mere nine months ago; it seemed like an eternity looking at myself now. His muscles were more toned, I noted, probably through rigorous sword training.

"Van?" I asked wearily, still scared that I was in some sort of dream or premonition.

"Hitomi, what happened?" he asked concerned, obviously looking at my very pregnant stomach. When he touched my arm and I still remained beside him I knew that this had to be real.

"Van, I'm so glad it's you!" I cried out, "I'm so glad to be back on Gaea!"

Tears began to flow freely from my eyes, all of the worries that I had been burdened with suddenly disappeared. Van was with me now, everything would be alright – it had to be. Even though I knew this, I couldn't stop the tears, or rambling out all of my fears.

"The doctors all wanted to run tests, they thought he was abnormal! I wouldn't let them, and I knew that they were going to take him away from me the moment that I had him; I would never see him again – they would probably kill him! I couldn't let that happen… I had to protect him…"

"Hitomi," Van interrupted, he was obviously confused and worried about me, and I could see it in his eyes, "who are you talking about?"

"Our baby, Van," I said slowly, trying to articulate between my tears and sobbing, "They wanted to take our baby! I had to protect him because I couldn't get back to Gaea, I couldn't get back to you!"

The shocked expression in Van's eyes made me break down crying even harder. He didn't want me and he didn't want our baby. I would be left in this world by myself and raising a child…

I was rather surprised, however, when Van climbed onto the bed beside me and pulled me into his lap. He was obviously unnerved by my distraught state. He pulled my head into his chest and proceeded to comfortingly stroke my hair as I sobbed into his shirt like a school girl.

"No one will harm our child," he said to me in a mere whisper, "No one will take our baby away from us as long as I am here; Fanelia will not allow harm to come to our child, nor will I."

Hearing the tenderness and sincerity in Van's voice, I began to calm down. Now that I was in Fanelia, now that I was with Van, everything was going to be alright. My baby will be well protected and cherished. With that in mind, I began to fall to sleep into the arms of my soul mate.

"I love you Hitomi," Van whispered, "Don't ever leave me again,"

"Never," I replied tiredly, "I love you and our child too much."

With that, I fell asleep in the arms of my love, my protector.

* * *

**AN:** Well, I know that that was incredibly short, but I want to know what you think of it. It will continue and I am hoping to get the next chapter out next week, if my schoolwork doesn't overcome me. In fact, I plan to write a chapter a week like I used to – if all goes planned, which it hardly ever does. Well, don't forget to review. Ja! 


	2. Chapter One

_Les Guardiens de la Puissance_

by

Kris Black

DISCLAIMER: _Escaflowne_ is the sole property of its creator and distributors. I do not own _Escaflowne_ or any of the characters in the story that you recognize. The characters that you do not recognize, however, are my own; please do not use them without permission. This disclaimer applies to this chapter and this story in a whole.

**AN:** Like promised, I believe that this is one week after the submission date – and it is a five page chapter. I hope you enjoy it – the labour was particularly fun to write. BTW, the prologue was the only first-person narritive part of this story and that was just for dramatic effect.

* * *

The next morning Hitomi woke up screaming, this time it wasn't because she was afraid for the life of her child though; quite the contrary, the child was about to come into life. Her forehead perspired as another contraction hit and she screamed in pain, wondering where Van was. She looked around frantically, wondering if there was even anyone around who could hear her labour pains. 

Suddenly, the door in front of her flew open and a hairy little beast practically flew in. Down on its four paws, the furry, cat-like creature darted towards the bed; stopping only when it had reached the side of the bed. It rose up onto its hind legs, revealing a human-esque face – almost as if it was a human girl. She opened her whiskered mouth, revealing sharp teeth, before asking,

"What's wrong? I heard you screaming!" the cat-girl asked worriedly before looking at Hitomi's sweaty face, glancing down at her stomach, "Oi, Lord Van told me that you were here, but I didn't expect you to bring someone else with you!"

"Merle," Hitomi panted and smiled in recognition of a dear friend, "It's so good to see…" she was cut off with another painful contraction.

"Hitomi?"

"I'm in labour, Merle," Hitomi panted.

"Oh no!" Merle panicked, "We need a mid-wife!"

Merle shot out of the room twice as fast as she had entered. Hitomi thought, amused, that Merle would be quite the contender in a track race. This thought was brought to an abrupt end when another contraction hit her hard. Her face scrunched up as tears of pain fell from her eyes, wishing that Van was with her right now and wondering where he was. Hitomi had no sooner thought this when Van walked into the room. His dark hair was messy as if he had run his hand through it many times. His shirt was wrinkled and un-tucked and a nervous look was etched across his face.

"Van," Hitomi panted, sighing, "I'm so glad that you're here."

Van crossed the room in a matter of seconds, walking to the right side of the bed and taking hold of her hand. He smiled a little at her.

"Merle told me that you were in labour while she was running toward, I assume, the midwife," receiving a nod from Hitomi, he continued, "Are you in pain?"

"More pain than you can possibly imagine," Hitomi giggled, before looking at him, "but its better now that you are here."

"I'll always be here," he replied and kissed the back of her hand.

Another contraction hit Hitomi, harder and more painful than any of the previous ones; she screamed and closed her eyes in pain, squeezing Van's hand tightly. She was trying to correct her breathing when the mid-wife walked in.

She was an older lady, looking about somewhere in her fifties or sixties. She had a plump body, fair skin with jolly red cheeks; she had white, wispy hair that flew out of place from the tight bun she had her hair tied back into. She looked, Hitomi thought, like a female version of Santa Claus – especially with her red apron on.

She hurried across the room, as everyone had seemed to be doing this morning. She looked down at Hitomi and a look of surprise was stricken across her face.

"The Winged Goddess…" she whispered in awe, as if she were looking at a living deity instead of a pregnant teenage girl in labour with her short, light brown hair matted to her head.

Another contraction hit Hitomi with so much aggression that she almost doubled over. Van, now panicked, decided that this was not the time for wonderment on the mid-wife's part.

"Yes, this is the Winged Goddess," Van affirmed sternly, "Her name is Hitomi and she is currently giving birth, so could you assist her please?"

"Yes, of course you're Majesty," the Mid-Wife blushed at her obvious amazement.

She began to give Hitomi breathing instructions, and then spread Hitomi's legs wide to check dilation.

"Oh dear," the Mid-Wife said softly, "You are far more along than what I had thought; the baby is nearly here."

"Miliani," Van started, obviously unsure about how to continue as he listened to Hitomi's laboured breathing next to him, "This child is… Draconian."

A look of realization dawned upon the face of Miliani as she looked from Van to Hitomi and back, before muttering a small, "I should have known," followed by a light chuckle.

"Don't worry, Kanzaki-sama," Miliani assured the distraught teen, "Yours is not the first Draconian babe that I have delivered. In fact, I was the mid-wife for Queen Varie, God rest her, and helped birth both Prince Folken and King Van."

Hitomi smiled slightly, knowing that her child was in the best hands – considering she was probably one of the, if not the, last people on Gaea who had experience in Draconian births. Miliani explained that the wings do not usually extract until the baby is out of the mother, and that the only thing that is different is the huge amount of energy that it takes to give birth.

Another contraction afflicted Hitomi.

Miliani looked down and informed Hitomi that on her next contraction she had to push as hard as she could, while breathing the way she was. When the next contraction hit, with Van and Miliani's encouragement, she pushed with all of her might – despite the excruciating pain. After doing this two more times, Hitomi felt a huge stress relief on her abdomen. She closed her eyes and thanked the heavens that it was finally over as Van wiped her tear-stained face with a white handkerchief.

The sound of a baby's cry filled the chamber, encouraging the tired new mother to open her eyes and see what she had help to create. Lying in blankets in Miliani's arms, Hitomi knew that that was her precious baby. She reached out her arms, indicating that she wished to hold her child. Miliani walked over to Hitomi and smiled,

"Hitomi, meet your son."

Tears of joy filled Hitomi's eyes as she held her newborn. He was beautiful. His baby-blue eyes had already begun to take a greenish-tint to them, and he already had a head full of dark, black hair like his father's. The thing that caught her interest the most, however, was the set of tiny white wings that came from his back. She was careful not to hold him too awkwardly, so that his wings remained unharmed.

"How do we retract his wings?" she asked, not tearing her face away from her son even for an instant.

Van gently leaned over and placed the palm of his hand onto his son's forehead. Closing his eyes in concentration, a small amount of white power flowed from him and into the small boy. His wings retracted almost instantly, and the baby cooed and snuggled into his mother's bosom comfortably.

"Like that," Van replied as he smiled and kissed Hitomi's forehead.

"That's my queue to exit," Miliani smiled at the pair, "I'll come by for a check up tomorrow."

Van nodded in response and watched Miliani close the heavy door behind her. Turning his attention back to his son and Hitomi, he watched him coo at her and her to him also. The first true smile that Van had worn in years appeared on his worn face. Hitomi looked up at him, her green eyes shining, wet hairs still clinging to her face and neck. She smiled back at him, words were not needed. She passed him their son, the new heir to the Kingdom of Fanelia.

"Hello," he whispered as he held his first born in his arms, rocking him with a gentleness that he never knew he possessed, "I am your Papa."

At that moment, tears of happiness fell freely from his face, instead of Hitomi's. He couldn't believe that only yesterday he had thought that he would be alone forever, never destined to see Hitomi again. Yet, today he held the son that he and Hitomi had created together, and Hitomi was sitting beside him, taking a well deserved nap.

"What shall we call you?" Van asked the baby, "You will need a name for your coronation…"

"I want to name him after Folken," Hitomi said in barely a whisper, her eyes still shut.

"I thought you were asleep," Van replied with his brows knitted in concern, "You need your rest."

"I want to name our son before I can sleep," Hitomi replied, opening her eyes and smiling, "And I think I have the perfect name."

"What is it?" Van asked sincerely.

"Ryu Folken de Fanel," Hitomi smiled, "Ryu means 'Dragon' in my native tongue."

"Ryu it is then," Van nodded, "And such a fitting name for the prince of the dragon lands."

Hitomi smiled as she saw Van acting in a different manner than usual, in a fatherly manner. She was sure that he would be the greatest father on both the Mystic Moon and Gaea combined. She closed her eyes, determined to only rest them. Van looked over moments later, seeing her chest rise and fall serenely as she slept.

* * *

The next morning, when Hitomi had awaken, Miliani was there already checking over Ryu. Hitomi blinked her tired eyes and yawned, stretching her arms into the sky. Miliani had noticed that Hitomi was awake and brought Ryu over; placing him into Hitomi's awaiting arms. 

"He's quite a calm baby," Miliani said, "He barely made a peep while I checked him over."

Hitomi, however, wasn't listening. As soon as Ryu was in her arms she felt as if everything was right in the world. She was still amazed that she had carried him in her for nine months, nine months of fear. She closed her eyes and willed all of the horrible memories away, and held her child closely to her. No one was going to take him away from her – no one.

"He is in perfect condition Kanzaki-sama," Miliani informed, "I have not seen a baby this healthy since Van-sama."

Hitomi beamed, noting another thing that Ryu took after his father; his wind-torn, black hair, his temperament, and even his beautiful white wings. The only things that Hitomi noticed that she could take credit for, so far, were his green eyes – which he was currently wide-open and staring at her.

"How are you sweetheart?" she asked him merrily, he cooed in response.

"Van-sama said that he will be along to visit you as soon as he finishes some paperwork," Miliani explained, "You should probably just stay here and rest."

"I have been in this bed since I returned to Gaea," Hitomi contested, "I wish to go outside, to the gardens. I will not be far and I can get some air."

Miliani asked if she wanted a maid to stay with Ryu to watch him while she went for her walk.

"No, I will take him with me," Hitomi said firmly, "Could you please get him ready while I get prepared?"

"Of course, Kanzaki-sama," Miliani replied and took Ryu into her own arms.

Hitomi slowly, but resolutely, got out of bed. There was little-to-no pain, but she needed the bed post to keep her steady for the first few moments; she hadn't been on her feet at all in three days and was a little dizzy. Once the room had stopped spinning around she realized that she didn't have anything else to wear.

"Kanzaki-sama," Miliani spoke up, spotting the apparent confusion on Hitomi's face, "Van-sama had clothes sent up for you. They are lying behind the changing wall."

Hitomi looked around for said changing wall and found it in the left-corner near the rear of the bedroom. Walking over to it slowly, trying to get used to being upright again, she noted that there were indeed clothes behind it. She made sure that her body was completely covered by the sheer wall before removing her filthy clothing that she had been wearing.

She pulled the dress that was left for her on. It was a simple day dress that floated down to her ankles, but was thin so it wasn't over bearing. The sleeves were long and the cut was modest, but for a dress, she liked it. There were a few embellishments around the neckline, but that was the only decorative part of the dress. It was a pale green and the fabric felt beautiful on her skin.

As soon as Hitomi had finished dressing she walked towards Miliani to get Ryu. Making sure that the baby was secure in her arms, she smiled.

"Do you need any assistance getting to the gardens, or with Ryu?"

"I'll be fine," Hitomi assured her, "If I get lost I'll just ask someone for directions."

Miliani fondly gave her directions before making her exit.

"Well Ryu," Hitomi said, "You and Mama are going on a walk to see some pretty flowers."

Hitomi hummed to her son while she sauntered through the castle, carefully following the directions that Miliani had given her. Passing servants either gave her a strange look, not realizing who the young woman walking by them with a baby was; those who did recognize her, however, bowed so low that their noses nearly touched the floor. Hitomi began to become unnerved by all of the attention she was receiving, and almost jumped for joy when she discovered that she had made it to the royal gardens.

It was a bright, sunny day out; Hitomi was surprised that the garden was completely void of people. However, happy that her and her newborn would get to spend some time together, she walked over to the nearest seating area (which was a marble bench) and sat down. She began to sing Ryu a love song that she had adored when she had lived on the Mystic Moon as he beamed up at her joyously.

"Someday you are going to be able to walk and talk," Hitomi smiled at him when she had finished singing her song, "And you, me, and your Papa are going to play together in this garden all the time."

"I hope that that is a promise," Van's deep voice came out from behind her.

Hitomi turned her head towards Van, swivelling her body soon afterwards. She smiled at his appearance. It was obvious that he had been in some rather strenuous meetings, his hair was dishevelled and clothes were un-tucked in various places and positions.

"You look like you've had a hard morning," she said quietly and scooted over to make room for Van to sit.

"Harder than you can imagine," Van sighed, "The Fanelia council doesn't exactly like the fact that their heir was born out of wedlock."

Hitomi became quiet, not sure how to respond. She had been the one to return and place all of this stress on Van, and possibly his kingdom now. Would it have been better if she had stayed on the Mystic Moon? Looking down at Ryu, she decided that she had made the right decision. If she had not returned to Gaea she couldn't begin to imagine what would be happening to her little boy right now.

"I'm sorry Van," she whispered sadly, adjusting Ryu in her arms.

"There is nothing to be sorry for," Van replied earnestly, tilting her head to look him in the face, "You have come back to me; furthermore, you came back with our child. I love you both more than you can possibly imagine. I prefer to deal with the council's hassling than to have you both separated from me."

"Oh Van," Hitomi sighed and laid her head on his shoulder.

Ryu turned in Hitomi's arms and let out a small cry. Van looked down at his son and asked,

"May I hold him?"

"Of course."

Handing Ryu to his father, she smiled at the pair. Van's eyes glowed with love and pride as he stared at his son, his family.

"We'll have to go in soon," Hitomi reluctantly said, "Ryu will need to be fed."

"Of course," Van smiled, "And unfortunately, as much as I would love to spend the day with the two of you, I have to return to council meetings; this was only a short break and I wanted to spend it with my family."

"Are they giving you that much trouble?" Hitomi asked concerned, eyebrows knitting.

"Believe me, it is worth it."

Hitomi smiled and kissed Van's cheek before taking Ryu back into her arms.

"Be sure to come and see us soon. Don't let the council work you too hard."

"I'll be with you as soon as I can," Van assured.

Hitomi nodded and walked back into the castle, her son securely held in her arms. It was time for him to be fed and she would go back to her room to do it in peace.

Over the next few days, Van remained tied-up with his council, only being able to visit Hitomi and Ryu for about an hour in total each day. Van couldn't stand it; he finally had a family like he had always wanted and work was keeping him away from them. Hitomi's condition wasn't helping the situation much either. She absolutely refused to be separated from the young prince; the only ones that she would permit near him or let hold him was Van, Merle, Miliani, and herself.

She had told Van of her paranoia that she was scared that if she let Ryu out of her sight that he would be taken from her. She tried to laugh it off as some sort of post-partum symptom, but Van was suspicious. Hitomi's feelings were often more accurate than she let on, and if it were the case in this situation, then his family could be in serious trouble – especially if he was too busy talking to the council to protect them.

Van decided that he was going to finish his business with the council, and he was going to finish it _today_.

* * *

**AN:** Next chapter we get flashbacks to fill in the empty spaces, like what happened exactly to bring Hitomi to Gaea, and why she was so distraught. We may also get glimpses of what Van's life was like and how Ryu was… ahem… made… Just for a reminder, this story is rated T so it won't be descriptive – more like an allusion. 


	3. Chapter Two

_Les Guardiens de la Puissance_

by

Kris Black

DISCLAIMER: _Escaflowne_ is the sole property of its creator and distributors. I do not own _Escaflowne_ or any of the characters in the story that you recognize. The characters that you do not recognize, however, are my own; please do not use them without permission. This disclaimer applies to this chapter and this story in a whole.

**AN:** So, here is the new chapter – early then I had planned. I hope you enjoy it. This shows quite a few flashbacks, but I don't give you guys _nearly_ everything that happened. Just so I can be mysterious – everything will be revealed in time. XD

* * *

"Your majesty, how on Gaea did this happen?"

_Van and Hitomi lay in long, green grass in the middle of a field, staring up at the velvet sky. The stars winked at them playfully while they lay in comfortable silence, staring up at Hitomi's home – the Mystic Moon. With a long, almost mournful sigh, Hitomi reached over and placed her small hand in Van's tanned, calloused one._

"_Van," she whispered as she stared into the heavens, "I don't think that I want to leave you. I couldn't bear not seeing you ever again."_

_Van replied by squeezing her hand in a reassuring way; he couldn't think of another way to answer her. He didn't want her to go, he never wanted to let go of her. However, if she stayed with him he would be breaking his vow – his vow to send her back home, home to her friends and family. He squeezed her hand a little harder._

"_Van," Hitomi smiled sadly as she turned on her side to face him, "I know what you are thinking."_

"_Oh really," he mused as he turned to his side also, letting go of her hand and grabbing the opposite one, "And what is that, oh powerful Seeress?"_

"_I don't need to go into your mind to know what you're thinking," Hitomi replied as she stared into his eyes, "I know you well enough to know exactly what you are thinking."_

"_Oh, and what was I thinking?"_

"_You are thinking that it is your duty to send me home," Hitomi replied quietly, "that you are bound to the promise that you made to me all those months ago."_

"_Aren't I?" Van retorted, "I swore, as King of Fanelia, that I would see you home and that's what I have to do. I have to send you back to your family, to your mother and father, to your brother…"_

"_Oh Van," Hitomi cried out put her head into his chest, obviously distraught, "You just don't get it do you?"_

"_I don't get what Hitomi?" Van asked sadly as he rubbed her hair soothingly as she cried into his chest._

"_**You** are my home," she replied as she pulled back from him and looked him in the eyes with hers blood-shot and full of tears, "**You** are my family too, I love you."_

_Van was torn up by this statement. He was her home, he was her family… she was his family. He knew this in his heart; he could feel it in every cell in his body – he and Hitomi were meant to be together. Fate had brought them together and now it was going to tear them apart. He hated that word – fate. He had heard and learned enough of it over the past few months… but wasn't that what had brought Hitomi to him?_

"_I love you too, Hitomi," Van said and pulled her into a hug, hugging her with all that he had, "but I swore to you, Hitomi. I could never forgive myself if I kept you and you ended up regretting it and hating me."_

"_I could never hate you Van," Hitomi cried into his chest, "never."_

_Van held Hitomi as she cried all of her pain away; everything she had seen in the past few months, all the death she had witnessed, and the fact that tomorrow – **tomorrow** – she would lose him too. Van wanted nothing more than to let the tears in his eyes flow freely as well, to hold her tightly and tell her that she didn't have to go, that she could stay with him, like this, forever. However, he couldn't. He couldn't break down in front of her when he had to stay strong for her, he was the one who was making her go and he knew that he'd regret it the moment it happened. Hell, he was regretting it now. But, he didn't want her to regret staying with him, so he had to endure._

"_Van," Hitomi said quietly after she had calmed down, "Will this be the last time that we are together, just the two of us? Is this the last time that you will get to hold me like this, like I'm the only thing that matters?"_

"_I hope not Hitomi," Van whispered, "I don't want to be without you forever."_

"_Then don't send me back, Van, please," she pleaded._

_Van couldn't look her in the eyes, because he knew that he would give in to her. He would give anything just to see her happy… but that was why he was doing this in the first place._

"_It's better this way, Hitomi."_

"_No it's not!" She cried out at him, "It's not! You're killing us both Van, by doing this!"_

_A pain stricken look crossed Van's face at the phrase she had used. Killing. That's what he had been doing since Fanelia had burned – is that what he was doing to Hitomi?_

"_Van," Hitomi whispered once more as she placed a gentle hand on his arm, "I didn't mean it like that. It's just, look at us – we are both complete wrecks just thinking about being apart; imagine what it will be like when we are actually apart."_

"_I can't imagine it," Van whispered back and closed his eyes, "it hurts too much."_

"_Then don't separate us like this."_

"_I can't," Van replied firmly, his head bowed._

_Hitomi couldn't stand to look at him like this, bowing his head in shame. She had caused this – she was just making them hurt more and leaving them both with memories that would haunt them in the future because of this argument._

"_Van," Hitomi said resolutely as she walked in front of him and pulled his head up gently to look her in the face, "I'll accept that this may be our last night together."_

_Van nodded slowly and pulled her into another hug, he wasn't sure that he would be able to let her go when the time came. He stiffened slightly when she pulled away from him slightly._

"_And," she continued, "If this is our last night together then I want it to be full of good memories. Not ones that will make us regret what we said to each other."_

_She leaned in slowly towards Van's face, both of them closing their eyes in the process. When their lips touched an overwhelming sense of what they were both about to lose engulfed their bodies. There, in that grassy field beneath the stars, Hitomi and Van were linked together eternally. _

"That is really none of your business," Van grunted as he was rendered almost completely at a loss because of the memory.

"Sire really," a councilman spoke up, "we cannot announce that the heir was born from wedlock – the people would be outraged. Not to mention what other countries may think…"

"I don't care what the other countries think!" Van snapped.

"But think of your people, Van-sama," another man spoke up, "Not only will they not accept the heir, but they will think of you as a king who gives into his temptations…"

"What can I do about it?" Van yelled, slamming his fist on the table, startling the others in the room. His mere presence was terrifying, only he could demand so much respect with a single action – a remarkable feat considering he was still a teenage boy.

"I will not ignore the fact that I have a son," he said lowly and threateningly, "I will not deny him, or his mother."

"We are not saying that Van-sama," one of the younger councillors spoke up, one that Van was quite fond of and regarded as a friend.

Darius wasn't as young as Van, but he was quite young for a councilman. He looked like he was about in his mid-twenties with blonde hair and blue eyes – he sort of reminded Van of Allen, except that his blonde hair was cut short and he wasn't trying to take Hitomi away from him. Van looked up at him and signalled for him to continue.

"We could tell the people that you have been married for a while," he suggested, "that you had a small ceremony to please her. We could announce that when Kanzaki-sama found that she was with child that she wanted to go to her home planet to wait out her pregnancy with her family; she returned to give birth to the heir…"

"His name is Ryu," Van interrupted, glaring at the rest of the council, "and I would appreciate it if you called him by that."

"She returned to give birth to Ryu-sama," Darius continued, "and in light of that fact you would like to have a public wedding ceremony – sort of to renew your vows – and then the coronation of the Queen and Prince for the public – together."

"It's so crazy that it just may work," another council member spoke up.

"Fine, let's take a vote," the head magistrate called out to the room, "All those in favour of young Darius' plan say 'Aye'."

A resounding 'aye' was heard throughout the hall, echoing off of its stone walls. A unanimous vote had been decided – they were going to pass Hitomi off as the queen that they had always had and kept quiet about. They were going to pretend as if the real wedding ceremony was a repeat of one that had supposedly happened months ago; however Van had found a flaw in the plan in an instant.

"However the council may have voted," Van said loudly, making sure that everyone could hear him, "it is still to be decided. Hitomi may not want to marry me."

Another sound resounded off of the hall's walls this time, except it was the echoing of roaring laughter. Apparently, the council had found this statement quite funny.

"Have your fun," Van muttered under his breath as he stormed out of the room of laughing councillors, "Is it really necessary to mock the king?"

Shaking his head in disapproval he walked towards Hitomi's room, trying to figure out how to propose the idea that Darius had created without insulting Hitomi. He knew that she had quite the ego and a limitless amount of pride, and if he worded this wrong, even to the slightest detail, that she would never speak to him again.

* * *

Hitomi had just laid Ryu down for his nap, staring into his cradle she smiled as she heard him snoring lightly. He was a little angel; her little angel. Now Hitomi not only had a guardian angel to protect her, but one that she was responsible to protect as well. She pulled his blanket over him, tucking him in gently and kissing his forehead. She was broken out of her reveries by a gentle rapping on her door. Tip-toeing over so that the squeaky floor-boards didn't wake up Ryu, she opened the door to see Van standing there.

"Van," she beamed as she whispered quietly, "I'm sorry, Ryu just went to sleep…"

"Can I come in?"

"Of course," she said and moved over so that he could come in. She gently shut the door behind him and watched as he made his way over to Ryu's crib.

He looked down at his beautiful son, sleeping peacefully as he sucked on his thumb. He reminded Van of one of those angels that Hitomi had told him about before she had left; he was perfection in its fullest.

"I still can't believe that he is here," Van whispered as wiped a bit of dirt gently off of Ryu's cheek, "I can't believe that you are here."

"I never wanted to leave, Van," Hitomi replied quietly from behind him.

Van looked away from her instantly, he couldn't bear to think that he had sent her away; especially not now that he knew that she had gotten pregnant.

"It's okay Van," Hitomi smiled as she placed a comforting hand on her arm as she had done the night that Ryu had been conceived, "I understand why you did it."

Van turned towards Hitomi and pulled her into a hug, the first real one that he had given her since her return. He had been so busy trying to sort things out with the council that he hadn't truly shown his affection for her – his love that would last for eternity. He had missed her so much, missed her laugh, her eyes, her smile, her touch.

"I missed you Hitomi," He whispered into her hair, "there wasn't a second that went by that I didn't think of you and miss you. I am sorry for sending you back to the Mystic Moon."

"Van, I…"

"I know you must have gone through a lot after you found out that you were pregnant," Van said as he pulled back, "When you were brought to the palace you were frigid and unconscious… and pregnant. I thought… I thought that you were dead at first."

Hitomi's eyes watered as she looked at him, she remembered what she had gone through when she had been pregnant. She couldn't believe how short of a time had passed since then…

"When you woke up you were hysterical," Van continued, "I didn't know what to do…"

"Van, it was horrible. The Mystic Moon…" She began, but stopped mid-sentence.

"Could you tell me, please?" He pleaded, "I want to know what happened to you."

Hitomi took a deep breath and nodded her head slowly. Closing her eyes, she recalled the memories that she had tried to repress since her return – but Van needed to know. She made her way over to her bed and sat down, Van following and taking a place beside her.

"I found out that I was pregnant about a month after I returned to the Mystic Moon…"

_Hitomi leaned back from the toilet and pulled some toilet paper off of the roll to gentle wipe the residue from her mouth. Her mother, who had been rubbing her back gently the whole time, flushed the toilet. When the sound of the swirling, gargling toilet stopped they sat in an eerie silence before her mother spoke up._

"_Hitomi, I think that you should go see a doctor."_

_Hitomi looked away from her mother, throwing the used tissue in the trash. She knew that if she went to the doctor that they would find something abnormal if her illness was what she thought it was. Sensing her distress, her mother continued,_

"_Hitomi, you've been like this since you returned from wherever you were," her mother said with distress, she still didn't know of the circumstances in which her daughter went missing for months, "You've been throwing up every morning and sometimes during the days. You might be… might be…"_

"_Pregnant," Hitomi filled in for her distraught mother, who proceeded to break down in front of her._

_Witnessing your mother crying – a woman who you had looked up to as perfect and incredibly strong all of your life – was emotionally draining. Hitomi couldn't believe that her mother was sitting on the bathroom floor beside her, crying because of her. It was because of that that Hitomi had agreed to see a doctor._

"…if I had known what that one doctors appointment would do to my life, I don't think I would have gone through with it, Van; even with my mother's hysterical state in the bathroom that morning…"

"_Kanzaki-san," the doctor said after looking over her chart, "you are indeed pregnant."_

_Hitomi's mother broke down crying once more and Hitomi looked wide-eyed at the doctor, placing a hand gently on her abdomen; she was going to be a mother and… Van was going to be a father. This baby, she realized, was far more important than anything she had been entrusted with so far in her young life… _

"_However, Kanzaki-san," the doctor continued, "we found an abnormality in your blood…"_

"_What?" her mother asked, looking worried._

"_We believe that the baby is causing it and would like to draw some more for analysis…"_

_The Draconian blood that ran through her baby's veins was affecting her body; Hitomi realized in that second that the doctors would find out that the baby isn't completely human if they ran more tests…_

"_No," Hitomi said bluntly and resolutely._

"Unfortunately," Hitomi said to Van, "I am under-age where I live and don't really have a say in whether or not to run tests; it's all up to my mother. I didn't tell her about Gaea, or you, because I knew that she wouldn't believe me. I don't blame her; if it were my daughter I would have done the same thing, she didn't understand…"

"She ordered the tests?" Van stated, rather than asked.

Hitomi nodded, "despite my pleadings with her, she ordered the blood tests."

_Hitomi knew that she needed to get out of the hospital fast. If the doctors came to a conclusive identification that the blood was, indeed, inhuman then her and her baby may not have another chance to escape the hospital – or the government. She knew the kinds of tests that they ran on anything out of the ordinary; with her baby's wings and extraordinary blood she knew that the tests they would run on both of them would ultimately kill them both._

"_Mom," Hitomi spoke up, "I'm feeling sick, I should probably go to the bathroom…"_

"_Do you need me to go with you?"_

"_No, I'll be fine," Hitomi replied with a smile, exiting the room._

"After that, I ran out of the hospital," said Hitomi, "I ran the whole way home. When I got there I packed my stuff and wrote a letter to my mother and brother telling them that I had run away or something of the sort. Looking back on that part now, I'm not really sure what I wrote exactly."

"You were only a month pregnant," Van noted, "You didn't come here until a day before you gave birth…"

"Not because of lack of trying," Hitomi said lowly.

"_Come on!" Hitomi screamed into the air with her arms opened wide, staring up at the planet behind the Moon, "Let me go back! I need to go back!"_

_She collapsed on the track of her old high school and cried. She didn't have anywhere to go or anyone to trust now…_

Ryu's crying broke Hitomi out of her story mode and she rubbed a hand over her tired eyes.

"He just went to sleep," she commented, "He should still be tired…"

She made to get up, but Van stopped her by raising his hand,

"Don't, I'll do it."

Hitomi smiled as she watched Van walked over and cover their son back up. He let him suck on his finger for a few moments before Ryu drifted back to sleep.

"You're amazing," Hitomi said as she watched Van tend to Ryu, "It looks like you've been doing this for years."

Van's ears, neck, and face turned red with a blush as he turned around to face her, walking back to the bed.

"You're tired," he noted, "Get some sleep tonight; I'll stay here and tend to Ryu if he needs it."

"You'll really do that for me?"

"Of course," Van smiled, "You're tired; Plus Ryu is my responsibility too – it's only right that I stay here and help. Now, get some sleep."

"Thank you," she said, lying down. She scooted over to the other side of the bed and motioned for Van to lie beside her, "You may as well get some sleep too; you'll need it."

Nodding, Van rested his head on the pillow beside Hitomi. He turned to face her, staring into her green eyes.

"Can you ever forgive me for sending you away?"

"I already have," Hitomi smiled, "It's all in the past now. Plus, we have Ryu - our beautiful son."

"He is perfect, Hitomi," Van stated.

Hitomi smiled wider and curled into Van's warm body, his arms going around her little body automatically. She sighed and closed her eyes, breathing in her scent.

"Hitomi?" He asked quietly.

"Mmhm?" she said tiredly into his chest, drifting off to sleep.

"Will you marry me?"

"Of course," she replied in the same tired voice and fell asleep in his warm arms.

* * *

**AN:** That's it. Hope you liked it. Don't forget to review! The next chapter will be out sometime around next week. Ja! 


	4. Chapter Three

_Les Guardiens de la Puissance_

by

Kris Black

DISCLAIMER: _Escaflowne_ is the sole property of its creator and distributors. I do not own _Escaflowne_ or any of the characters in the story that you recognize. The characters that you do not recognize, however, are my own; please do not use them without permission. This disclaimer applies to this chapter and this story in a whole.

**AN: **Okay, I took a break during my March Break, which is the equivalent to Spring Break. We'll actually, I didn't take a _break_ per say. I had most of this chapter typed up and I intended on finishing it during March Break, but I forgot to put it on my USB drive, he he. Well, here it is. It's a bit shorter than usual because I have realized that I really dislike writing weddings.

* * *

The next morning Hitomi woke up alone. She stretched out her arms and yawned, not having expected Van to have stayed the night – it would be improper for the King after all; even though they had a child together. Speaking of which, Ryu should have been awake by now. Hitomi got up and walked over to Ryu's crib to the right side of her bed. When she looked down to see whether or not he was still sleeping she almost had a heart attack. The crib was empty; her baby was gone. 

Panicking, Hitomi threw a robe on and ran out into the hall. She had to find her child, and the only person that she could rely on to help her do that was Van. Her mind was playing all sorts of scenarios of what could have happened to her precious baby boy. Luckily, she found a servant that was higher-up on the ladder and he managed to inform her of Van's whereabouts – the library. He also managed to give the distraught, half-dressed Hitomi directions to the library; she was almost sure that he would call the guards shortly after, knowing that she looked like a crazy woman.

Hitomi ran the whole way to the library, barely breathing the whole way and ignoring how cold her feet were becoming because she had forgotten to put on a pair of slippers. Nothing mattered to her at that moment except for finding her child. When she managed to make it to the large, oak doors to the entrance of the library she pulled them open as quickly as possibly; the sight that lay before her was remarkable, at least that's what she would have thought were she not petrified for the life of her child.

Van was holding Ryu (thank the heavens) and feeding him. Meanwhile his advisors were sitting around looking at their King in bewilderment as they tried to discuss various things with him.

"…Van?" Hitomi said confused.

"Hitomi?" Van asked in surprise, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting ready? Where are your maids?"

"Getting ready? My maids?" Hitomi was thoroughly confused at this point, "I just came to find Ryu, he wasn't in the room when I woke up and I was terrified that something had happened to him…"

"Oh, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before I took him, I know how nervous that you get when it comes to him," Van apologized, "I just figured that you would want to have most of the time to prepare for the wedding rather than looking after Ryu."

"The wedding?"

When the council saw the bewildered look on Hitomi's face they decided that it was time for a short intermission. Exiting the library one by one, they nodded their heads to Hitomi in respect. It wasn't until the final councilman was gone and the door was closed firmly did Van speak up.

"Our wedding, Hitomi. It's our wedding day, and now that I mention it… isn't it bad luck to see each other?"

"Our wedding day?" Hitomi asked, crossing the room to stand beside him, "When did you ask me to marry you?"

"Last night," Van said exasperated, "Don't you remember? Right before you went to sleep."

Hitomi thought for a moment, she had been quite tired last night – but she could faintly recall him popping "the big question". She bit her lip, mad that she had forgotten about it. She replied,

"Okay, so I remember. But I didn't think that it would be this soon!"

Van breathed in deeply, this was the part that he was scared of – the part where he had to tell her about Ryu's situation at birth being hidden.

"Well," he started, incredibly scared, "The council has decided that a quick wedding would be for the best. They said that if we were to marry soon they could tell the people of Fanelia that we had been married since you left – that it was only a small wedding; you had gotten pregnant on the wedding night and went to the Mystic Moon to carry out the pregnancy. They want to make it appear as if we are only renewing our vows for the people and nobles to see. That way, people will not question Ryu's birthright."

Hitomi took a minute to digest what Van had said. It all made sense to her, after all this is what politicians and people of high stature on the Mystic Moon had been known to do, so why not Fanelia too? However, there was one thing about this irritated her and was a blow to her pride.

"So, you're only marrying me to keep the council, and people happy? To ensure that Ryu is crowned Prince?"

Van's heart nearly stopped. Hitomi thought that the sole reason that he wanted to marry her was because of Fanelian politics – this is what he had been afraid of, and the fact that he may not be able to convince her of the truth.

"No," Van said firmly for a man who was terrified, "I want to marry you because I love you, Hitomi. I have loved you since the first time I saw you, throughout the Destiny War, and the whole time that you were on the Mystic Moon. My love for you has only intensified since the first time I met you, and grew beyond the size of the universe since you and Ryu returned to me."

"Oh Van," Hitomi sighed as her eyes began to water, "Do you mean it?"

"With all of my being," Van replied, "So will you marry me Hitomi, today?"

"Of course Van," Hitomi cried, "I would love to be your wife."

"And my Queen," he added as he leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips, maneuvering his arms so that Ryu wouldn't be uncomfortable.

"What about my dress?" she asked, suddenly taken with the idea of a wedding.

"The Queens of Fanelia have been wearing the same wedding dress since the founding of the country," Van replied, "My mother was the last one who wore it and you're about the same size as she was when she got married, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"When is the wedding?"

"Oh, in about four hours," Van said grinning.

"Four hours?!" Hitomi shrieked and Ryu began crying.

Van rocked Ryu back and forth in his arms and stuck his pinky finger into the baby's mouth to calm the howling.

"I need to be ready in four hours?" Hitomi said once more, this time quieter, "Is that even possible, how come no one came to get me?!"

"The maids were supposed to be there…" Van replied, "They were probably running a little late and are looking for you frantically right now. I sent over quite a few so that you could be ready…"

"What about Ryu?" Hitomi asked frantically, not wanting her son out of her sight per usual.

"I'll keep him with me," Van replied, "He will not leave my sight for even a second."

"What about the wedding ceremony," Hitomi asked, ringing her hands.

"We can leave him with Miliani, who will be sitting in the front row," Van replied, having everything planned out, "Then, after you're crowning and his christening Miliani and Merle will have him for the night. Is that okay?"

Hitomi nodded in approval, wondering where Merle was right now. She probably knew about the wedding and would be more excited than a child at Christmas. It was at this completely appropriate moment that Merle herself came bounding into the library.

"Hitomi, what are you doing?! You're not allowed to see Van until you get to the wedding! And what are you wearing? It isn't proper for a woman of _any_ stature to run around like that out of her bedroom, let alone the future queen!"

Merle then, without giving any sign that Van or Ryu were in the room, grabbed Hitomi by the arm and pulled her out of the library, mumbling about 'crazy Mystic Moon brides'.

"Well," Van said to his son as the councilmen started pouring back into the room, "It looks like your Mama is going to have a crazy day."

Hitomi looked at herself in the mirror, realizing for the first time that she was _actually_ marrying Van today. There was a small tiara placed in her hair and the dress she wore was beautiful despite its antiqueness. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to take everything in.

"Hitomi what are you doing?" Merle yelled as she re-entered Hitomi's room, "Everyone who is anyone is here! And you don't even have your veil on yet!"

Merle continued bantering Hitomi as she placed the long, sheer, customary veil over Hitomi's head – placing it carefully and pinning it on perfectly.

"There," Merle said as she finished and pulled it down over Hitomi's face, "Now you're finally ready."

With the entrance of her four new ladies-in-waiting, all dressed alike – matching in their whole attires. The only one who had even the slightest change in their attire was Merle, the King's adoptive-sister and Hitomi's Matron of Honour; the rest of the maids were wearing red – the colour of Fanelia – with black sashes around their tiny, corseted waists, Merle's sash was white.

The music from the large organ in the temple began resonating; signalling that the wedding was starting at that it was time for the ladies-in-waiting to begin their march down the long aisle on the other side of the large door of the hallway that the girls (and Hitomi) were now standing in. Two royal guards opened the doors slowly, bowing deep in respect to the future queen at the end of the line-up of beautiful women.

The first young woman, that Hitomi had come to know as Chiro, began her slow walk down the aisle with her footsteps steady and her head held high. She was followed by the other three girls that Hitomi had got to know in the last four hours: Asa, Kuni, and Emiko. Merle turned around and winked at Hitomi encouragingly before turning and beginning her own journey down the walkway. Luckily, Merle had drilled the customs of a Royal Fanelian wedding into Hitomi's mind during the last few hours; something that Hitomi was sure Van had counted on.

Waiting until Merle had made it to the end of the aisle, taking her place beside the other ladies; Hitomi placed her right foot into the entrance, then her left, the music stopped. She stood for a few moments. The audience arose and a different tune erupted from the organ.

Hitomi kept her chin held high and looked forward, refusing to look at the huge crowd of people who were all staring at her. She kept her focus on one thing only, Van; Van, her handsome soon-to-be husband was standing stoically at the end of her narrow pathway, dressed in the armour that he had worn during his coronation. He was absolutely perfect. It seemed to take an eternity to reach him, but when he took her hand in his and led her to kneel in front of the priest she felt incredibly serene.

The wedding ceremony went surprisingly fast for Hitomi, even considering that it was a royal ceremony. One moment she was walking down the aisle, the next she was saying her vows, the first kiss as man and wife, and now she was swearing her allegiance to her new country and king and being crowned the Queen of Fanelia.

"And now," the Priest bellowed out in his booming voice after introducing Hitomi and Van as their Majesties, "Presenting the son of their majesties, Ryu Folken de Fanel."

If Hitomi hadn't have been expecting this, mentally preparing, then she was sure she would have screamed when she had seen the Priest lift up her son from Miliani. Van held her hand tightly, reassuring his wife that the Priest was not out to harm their son in anyway.

The christening of Ryu also went fairly smoothly and quickly in Hitomi's eyes, and she had let out a breath of relief when he was placed back into her awaiting arms; the little guy had fallen asleep because the day had been so tiring. Smiling Hitomi kissed his head gently and walked down the aisle and out of the doors with Van, while the guests bowed to them respectfully.

The night had been tiring. After placing Ryu in Miliani's care for the remainder of the night Hitomi and Van were required to join in the festivities with the rest of the nobles. Hitomi was introduced to so many new people that she was sure that by the morning she would have completely blocked this part of the day from her memories.

Luckily, Hitomi had seen some familiar faces in the crowds of people and hurried over to talk to her old friends. Dryden, Millerna, Allen, the Crusaders, Duke Chid, and even Allen's sister Celena had come to the wedding. Hitomi was so excited to see her old friends that she burst into tears and hugged Millerna and Allen ferociously. Unfortunately, she had to spread herself around to her other guests, as Van had graciously informed her when he had caught up to her, and they had very little time to catch up. Hitomi only left the group after giving invitations for them all to come to Fanelia for a visit as soon as possible and receiving one in return from both Palas and Austuria.

It was soon after that that Van had suggested that they retire to their bedroom for the night, blushing scarlet Hitomi nodded as Van took her hand and led her away from the party knowing that his guests would understand.

"An heir to Fanelia eh?" A deep resounding voice murmured to his informant, "From the Dragon and Winged Goddess, the King and Queen of Fanelia. Interesting…"

"My lord…?"

"The power of a Draconian is immense I must say," the speaker said, more to himself than to anyone else, "however, a child born Draconian with the bloodline of a Goddess, that child could become a god… if raised the right way a god who could be controlled…"

"What do you wish me to do my Lord?" the servant informant asked, looking at his master with intensity.

The master grinned evilly, a twinkle coming to his cold eyes; he had a plan.

* * *

**AN**: There you have it. The next chapter, per usual, should be out sometime next week. Probably not until later in the week though because I am Editor of my High School's Newspaper and we have a deadline, so I won't have much time to write until around next Wednesday. Anyways, don't forget to review! 


	5. Chapter Four

_Les Guardiens du Puissance_

by

Kris Black

DISCLAIMER: _Escaflowne_ is the sole property of its creator and distributors. I do not own _Escaflowne_ or any of the characters in the story that you recognize. The characters that you do not recognize, however, are my own; please do not use them without permission. This disclaimer applies to this chapter and this story in a whole.

**AN:** Okay, so it's been a while but stuff happens, and stuff did happen. I am sorry and will not make excuses for myself… I don't think that many people read author's notes anyways. Well, this chapter and the next chapter will be rather short because I'm trying to get this plot on the go. R&R.

* * *

The transition between someone the castle barely noticed to being Queen annoyed Hitomi a great deal. Before, she stayed in bed and took care of Ryu most of the time. Now, she was woken at sunrise so that her ladies-in-waiting (including the always vibrant Merle) could dress her properly. During these sessions of them getting her ready (for anything really) the girls had really bonded. Chiro, Asa, Kuni, and Emiko were really quite wonderful. They were all around Hitomi's age (sixteen-ish) and were great friends. Chiro was quite fair and had a shy attitude. Asa had dark hair and eyes, but was the happiest of the bunch – always smiling. Kuni was loud and sarcastic (not to Hitomi of course). Although she was a bit rough around the edges, Hitomi was sure that she'd make a fine lady one day. The last, Emiko, was extraordinarily beautiful. Hitomi was sure that she would have many offers of marriage as soon as she came completely out into society. However, Emiko didn't have much in the brains department, but she had a great personality.

She, of course, still refused to allow the young prince out of her sight unless he was with his father, Merle or Miliani. Once about three months ago, Van's good friend/advisor Darius had tried to hold Ryu. Hitomi had screamed, grabbed the baby from his arms, and ran from the room – locking them both in her and Van's bedroom. It had taken Van himself going into the bedroom and calming her down to ease her mind.

Of course, Hitomi's unwillingness to leave Ryu's side had caused quite a stir within the council; worried that their new queen would baby the Prince too much, that when he was older she would not allow him to get formal education and training. In fact, so drastic were some of the ideas of how to remedy the problem that Van had refused to attend meetings for a whole half a month. However, during that time the council had agreed on a solution – the queen must have another child so that her attention would be more divided. Van, of course, knew nothing of the plan.

The council had decided that they would hire a number of extra maids and butlers to be at the disposal of King Van and Queen Hitomi. That way, they could have more _time_ to themselves. Of course, Van had been hesitant - but the council had assured him that it was to reduce some of the Queen's stress and to let her focus on her family.

On the day that Ryu turned six months old, Hitomi decided to take a long stroll throughout the castle while Van had some "father-son bonding time", or so he had called it. Hitomi didn't mind, however. It was good that even though Van was a king he could always make time for his son; plus Hitomi needed a little break, she admitted. Ryu had been quite fussy today.

Merle had shown Hitomi around the castle a bit before, but now Hitomi really wanted to explore. She knew where the basics were, but she wanted to discover every nook and cranny. She knew that she should probably be spending her time off sleeping and relaxing, but exploring was just too much fun to pass up. However, she was beginning to regret her decision, considering she was completely and totally lost in her own home.

"Your majesty," A shy, middle-aged maid asked as she approached the confused looking Queen, "Is anything wrong? You look lost."

Hitomi laughed merrily and admitted to the servant that she was, indeed, lost. After accepting the servants offer to show her back to familiar quarters, Hitomi asked her name and talked happily with her until she was back to a place she recognized. More then once, Hitomi was struck with a sense of foreboding; Akane, the maid, was sending off waves of an awful feeling, making Hitomi uncomfortable and wary within her presence. Hitomi couldn't have been happier to realize that she had known where she was.

"Thank you so much Akane," Hitomi smiled, "I appreciate this."

"Anything for her Majesty," the maid answered, bowed, then returned to what she had been previously doing.

Trying to shake off the foreboding feeling that something was approaching, Hitomi wrapped her arms around her body and made her way towards the nursery where she had left Van and Ryu. She needed to be with her family right now; the fear that something dreadful was about to happen kept building and building until her walk broke out into a run towards the nursery. Flinging the door open, she let out a breath that she had unconsciously been holding. Van and Ryu were perfectly safe, playing on the floor together.

"Hitomi, what's wrong?" Van asked as he saw her worried face. He stood up and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her in a caring manner.

"I have a bad feeling, Van," Hitomi confided as she squeezed him to her tightly, "Whenever something happy happens to us, something even more dreadful comes along. Van, I'm scared for my family."

"Hitomi," Van breathed out and pulled back from her to look her in the eyes, "I will protect you, both of you."

"I know," she whispered back, hugging him tightly once more.

Two weeks after Hitomi's terrifying experience, Hitomi was still a nervous wreck. She couldn't sleep at night and was constantly paranoid. The whole castle was worried about her, and rumours that the queen was beginning to go insane were beginning to spread around the kingdom. Merle did all that she could to calm her friend, but Merle herself was beginning to become afraid. Hitomi's predictions and feelings had never led them astray during the Great War, and they were usually closer to the truth then anyone cared to admit.

Hitomi lay awake just after Merle had left the room. Ryu had just fallen asleep and would remain that way for the rest of the night. Hitomi, herself, was beginning to feel weary. She had gotten little-to-no sleep within the past couple of weeks and it was taking its toll. Caring for a baby and getting no rest was really making an impact on her body. So, after staring into space for about an hour, Hitomi drifted off into the land of dreams.

The shutting of the heavy chamber door stirred Hitomi from her sleep.

'Van has finally stopped working,' Hitomi thought drearily as she turned in her bed.

She heard Ryu stir a bit in his bed, which was quite unusual he barely ever moved when he slept – just like his father. Hitomi heard Van walk over to the crib quietly, which struck another unusual note in her head; when the baby was asleep Van never disturbed him because he still remembered the last time he had done that and spent five hours trying to get his screaming son back to sleep. Then, Hitomi felt it. The impending doom, the dread and fear that ran down her spine, and the distinct smell of counterfeit – like the doppelganger from Palas…

Hitomi's eyes shot open and she saw a dark figure leaning over Ryu's crib.

"Get away from him!" she screamed at the figure and jumped out of bed. The figure turned to her, displaying the face of the older servant, Akane, from before, "You! I knew that there was something wrong with you!"

"There's nothing wrong with me Majesty," Akane replied, feigning innocence, "I simply heard his highness crying and decided to come see what the matter was…"

"Liar!" Hitomi yelled before taking a big breath to scream out for help from the guards, or even better, Van.

However, Akane was behind her in an instant, covering her mouth. Hitomi tried to fight against it, kicking, biting and anything else she could do to try and get away. She knew something was not right with this… thing. It certainly wasn't human. It had been a long time since she had last encountered a doppelganger, but she was almost certain that this is what the thing that was holding her was.

"That's not very queen-like," Akane said in her ear harshly as she bit his hand for the umpteenth time, "now be a good girl and be still. After all, you wouldn't want something happening to the poor little prince, would you?"

Hitomi went stiff at the mention of her son. What was this thing up to? What did she want? Where was Van?

"Good," Akane said when Hitomi stopped fighting.

Akane made a move away from Hitomi and towards the prince. Thinking as quickly as she could, she grabbed the doppelganger's arm and entered into her head – much like she had in Palas. She knew it was risky, and she knew that the last time that she had done this it had killed her, but she needed to protect her son at any price.

"Where am I?" the doppelganger cried out throughout the darkness of his mind.

"Reveal yourself, doppelganger," Hitomi said in a deep, trance-like voice and the form of the servant melted away into that of a doppelganger.

Hitomi's eyes went wide and glowed light pink before she released an astonished doppelganger's arm in the real world. She stumbled back, shocked at how easily her disguise was taken off. Hitomi looked the doppelganger in her fearful eyes and a heavy pulse poured from her body, driving the fake away from her child's crib before she fell down, dead.

Hitomi swayed slightly on her feet. The room was spinning and she didn't know how to stop it. Before she fell into a dark abyss, she could have sworn that the name "Van" escaped from her lips.

"Van!" Van heard Hitomi yell as he was walking towards his bedroom to finally get some rest. With his heart pounding faster then that of a cat's, Van ran to his bedroom quicker then he had ever run before in his life.

"Hitomi!" Van yelled as he tore open his door and looked at the scene in front of his eyes.

Ryu was sitting up, screaming in his crib. Van dreaded having to put him back to sleep after this ordeal. Looking around the room, he saw a body in the form of a doppelganger. Not certain as to what was going on, Van walked over to check for a pulse on the body. Not finding one, Van rushed over to his son to take him out of this room. That is, until he saw his unconscious wife lying on the floor.

"Hitomi?" he asked panicked as he ran over to her, getting down on his hands and knees in front of her to check for a pulse. He let out a breath that he wasn't aware that he was holding in when he felt the blood rushing through her veins. He lifted her up, placing her on their bed carefully before picking Ryu up and going out to the hall.

"Guards!" he yelled and five men were standing in front of him almost instantaneously, "I need you to get rid of this doppelganger. I found him dead a few moments ago in my room, keep it quiet. On the way, one of you send a healer here for the Queen – tell the healer that it is urgent."

"Yes Sir!" The guards said simultaneously before saluting and doing their duties.

Van attempted to calm Ryu, talking to him and bouncing him up and down while making funny faces – but nothing was working. Resorting to his final method, Van lay on the bed next to Hitomi and let Ryu crawl over to her. He was instantly happy again to be with his mother – Van always knew that his son would be a Mommy's Boy like he had been.

The healer had come and gone, saying that she Hitomi had passed out from dome sort of exhaustion and should be fine once she had her rest. Van was still unaware of what happened but he was getting more tired by the second, After finally calming down Ryu enough to put him back to sleep, Van posted four guards outside the door. He would figure out what conspired here in the morning when Hitomi woke up.

* * *

**AN:** That's all. Not much, but it's what it takes to get this story going. Don't forget to review. 


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